Scoop! VW Polo caught testing in India!

What you can see in the video below is the Volkswagen Polo on test in India. Volkswagen is in its final testing procedures for the Polo before it will be unveiled at the 2010 Auto Expo. To be manufactured at VW's new state-of-the-art Chakan plant, the Polo will set new benchmarks in terms of quality, fit and finish and refined engineering.

The Polo for India will come with three choices of engines - 3-cylinder 1.2-litre/70PS and 4-cylinder 1.4-litre/84PS petrol mills and a frugal 1.4-litre TDI diesel engine. While many would speculate these to be similar to the HTP and PD engines doing duty in the Polo's familial sibling, the Skoda Fabia, take our word for it, the Polo will house completely new engines. In fact, the Fabia in turn will have its powerplants replaced with the Polo's engines once the VW goes on sale.

The hatch is one of the most awaited small cars for India, primarily owing to its competitive target pricing. If our sources are to be believed, then VW is all set to price the Polo in the Rs. 4.25 to 6 lakh price bracket which will pitch this potent hatch against market leaders like the Swift/Ritz and other hot hatches like Grande Punto, Indica Vista and the i20. Expect the car to go on sale instantly after its unveiling at the Expo in January 2010.

Special thanks to Motoroids' eagle eyed reader Satyajeet Bhaskare for the video capture!

Mahindra's Scooter-ing Ambitions

Mahindra has been taking steps to develop its brand value in the Indian two-wheeler segment ever since it took over Kinetic Motors. With the Flyte relaunched, the company is now looking forward to expanding its product portfolio with three more products. Mahindra will be achieve this by (re)launching the now defunct Kinectic Blaze and the Kinetic 4S with a cosmetic makeover similar to the new Flyte. It is likely that there would be no technical changes on these scooters, apart from a few tweaks for the new emission norms. The first two scooter launches would be to merely establish its presence in the scooter market, while the thrid will be the a completely new product to highlight Mahindra's foray into the two wheeler market. The Blaze and the 4S will be see the light of the day in about a months time. The company's third scooter however, which will be an entirely new offering from yesteryear Kinetic's SYM range, is likely to be available in showrooms in around six months time.

The company is reportedly looking at acquisitions to enter the Chinese, Taiwan and European scooter markets as well. Mahindra is reportedly trying to acquire Italy-based two-wheeler manufacturer Malaguti - which will help Mahindra enter the higher end scooter segments in other two-wheeler markets as well.

Scoop! Hyundai i40 for India

What you can see here are pictures of the new mid-size sedan from Hyundai which will go on sale early next year. This model is set to replace the current Sonata line-up, with an aggressive design which is now defining all the latest Hyundai's. And you guessed it right, the 'Sonata' badge might be dropped as well, to follow the Korean carmaker's new 'i' naming conventions.
This sedan will most likely be conferred with the 'i40' tag when it takes on the mid-size luxury sedan segment. The car will grace Hyundai's exhibit at the upcoming Auto Expo and is expected to go on sale in India by Q2 2010 at a price bracket ranging from Rs. 14-lakh to Rs. 19-lakh for the petrol and diesel variants. We speculate the India model to be powered by the same range of Theta-2 engines that do duty under the current model. As the photos show, the interiors will sport an upmarket feel as compared to the current model, and Hyundai are to be believed, will also sport high quality materials similar to the ones we have already witnessed in the i10/i20. At the price bracket mentioned above, we feel this car will be one helluva value offering and has the fire-power to break the jinx that has been plaguing the India Sonata all this while!

Stay tuned for more news and scoops...

World Exclusive Scoop! Chevy Beat caught undisguised!

We caught Chevy's new small car for India, completely undisguised! This car will be christened the 'Beat' for Chevrolet's global market and will essentially replace the Spark (M200 platfrom) the world over. For India however, this hatch will co-exist alongside the Spark as a more premium offering. The car will be powered by a 1.2-litre, 82bhp Chevrolet Family-B petrol engine to start off and will later be joined by a 3-cylinder 936cc, 57bhp Multijet oilburner from FIAT. With almost 140 Nm of torque, this would be one potent city slicker!

Design-wise, the Beat is radical as you can see in the video. Apart from the large sweeping headlights, the other bit we love are the new type of rear door handles which are now integrated behind the rear window. Its surely taken a toll on the window space, but adds a streak of sportiness to the car's overall appeal. The Beat will be manufactured in Chevy's new Talegaon factory and will be unveiled at the upcoming Auto Expo. Expect it to go on sale instantly afterward with a price tag in the range of its rivals - the i10 and the A-star.

Infiniti M

This is Infiniti's answer to the BMW 5 Series, the Audi A6 and the Mercedes E-Class. Infiniti is Nissan's answer to the German luxury sedans, just like Toyota has Lexus. The M will be launched with a 3.7 litre V6, which will send power exclusively to the rear-wheels. More importantly though, the M will get a 3.0-litre V6 diesel and a hybrid version by end of 2010.

Traditionally, these Japanese rivals have never been able to make a dent on the Germans except for the American market. However with such competent products their popularity is surely on the rise.
Is it coming to India? No, at least not anytime soon. Nissan itself hasn't established itself in India yet and it will take at least a couple of years more till they get the Infinity brand to India.

Bentley Mulsanne

What you see in the pics is the new Bentley Mulsanne that was unveiled at the Concours in Pebble Beach, California. The Mulsanne tag was earlier worn by the predecessor of the Arnage, which will be replaced by the new Mulsanne in 2010. The 'Mulsanne' name is derived from the 'Mulsanne Straight', the fastest straight at Le Mans, where Bentley has recorded five historic victories. The Arnage been around, largely unchanged, since 1998 and was getting a bit long in the tooth.

The new Mulsanne is a clean sheet design, developed on Bentley's new platform specifically developed for this car. It looks like a modern Bentley, as contemporary as the Continental albeit with design cues from the Arnage. The Mulsanne will be built with exquisite detailing with each car taking 400 hours to build of which 200 will be consumed by hand-building tasks.
Power comes from a 6.75 litre V8 with over 500 bhp capable of hurtling the car to 300Kph.
Bentley is planning to sell around 700 Mulsannes a year, priced at around £200,000 (1.6 Crores exclusive of taxes).

Yamaha India plans to launch scooters

In our previous posts, we had discussed how Yamaha India plans to up the ante in the performance segment by plonking in a fuel injected 250cc single in its Fazer and FZ models. But that's not all Yamaha India plans to do. While 150cc and bigger engined bikes can create an enviable brand name for Yamaha, the volumes and profits in the great Indian two-wheeler market are still primarily governed by the 100-125cc bikes and scooters (as demonstrated by Honda). Suzuki, the third Japanese player in the Indian two-wheeler market has been banking on its Access scooter to generate volumes and the ploy seems to have worked rather well for the manufacturer. Now, Yamaha India also seems keen on taking a leaf out of Honda and Suzuki's books and claim its share in the scooter market by introducing some new models.

We cannot be sure about what exactly Yamaha India have in store for the Indian market, but we have seen the Yamaha Vino, Mio and Nouvo models (from the South East Asian market) parked in a Yamaha showroom earlier this year.



Yamaha Mio
Displacement 113cc
Max Power 8.13PS @8000 rpm
Max torque 7.53Nm @6500 rpm

The Mio/Mio Soul of these scooters has a good chance to make it to India, but we suspect Yamaha is also looking at its European scooter lineup to pick the most suitable scooters for India.


Our sources have told us that the 50cc BW's series is one of the strongest contenders for the entry level market.



Yamaha BW's series
Displacement 49.2cc
Max power 3.67PS@6800 rpm
Max torque 4.0Nm@5000 rpm

We think that higher up the ladder the 125cc fuel injected Cygnus X or the Vity will make the cut as their styling and specs are more suited to the Indian taste.
We're still trying to get some more information on the exact scooter models that Yamaha is mulling for India. One thing, however, is sure - we'll soon witness Yamaha scooters zipping on the India roads. We expect an early-mid 2010 launch for these machine in the Indian market.



Yamaha Cygnus X
Engine type Air cooled, 4 stroke single cylinder
Displacement 125 cc
Maximum power 10.88PS@8,500 rpm
Maximum torque 9.3Nm@7,500 rpm



Yamaha Vity
Displacement 125 cc
Maximum power 8.7PS@7,500 rpm
Maximum torque 9.2Nm@ 6,000 rpm


Click here for the Motoroids lowdown on the Yamaha Fazer 250.

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